Survey: EU hospitals spent $3.2B on IT in 2010

Hospitals in western European countries spent $3.2 billion on health IT in 2010, and the European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry (COCIR) estimated that spending will grow to $3.5 billion annually by 2015, based on results of a survey conducted by the Brussels-based nonprofit trade association.

The survey’s results, published Jan. 13, showed that nearly all hospitals in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the U.K. employ administrative IT systems, but that clinical IT systems implementation varied by type and country. For instance, computerized order provider entry is utilized by more than 80 percent of U.K. hospitals and almost none of Italy’s.

As a percentage of total hospital spending on health IT in 2010, 37 percent went to administrative IT, 31 percent to clinical IT, 21 percent to radiology IT, 9 percent to laboratory IT and 2 percent to cardiology IT.

The U.K. spent the most on health IT ($221.3 million), Germany spent the second most ($189.6 million), France spent the third most ($158 million), Italy spent the fourth most ($56.9 million) and Spain spent the least out of the five countries mentioned ($25.3 million).

Based on the survey’s results, the COCIR suggested that hospitals and governments collect evidence on the benefits of health IT, build IT skill among healthcare professionals and invest in clinical IT systems to increase the efficiency of healthcare delivery.

The COCIR has conducted an annual survey of hospital CIOs since 2008 to determine how much western European countries spend on health IT products and services.

View the survey’s results here.